Chapter 7 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘What would you have? It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him. It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’ ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists. ‘They hissed Courbet.
Chapter 7 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
lacking funds
From this reading “‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.”
French romantic painter (1798-1863)
From this reading “‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.”
plural of “fist” — a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.”
past form of “hiss” — make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading “‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.”
not suitable or right or appropriate
From this reading “It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’”
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading “‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
lacking funds
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
French painter noted for his realistic depiction of everyday scenes (1819-1877)
From this reading ‘They hissed Courbet.
French romantic painter (1798-1863)
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
plural of “fist” — a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ‘What would you have?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
past form of “hiss” — make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
not suitable or right or appropriate
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
express in words
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading It isn’t my fault--I warned him that the public would not understand him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘What would you have?
a Caucasian
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
in the company of; together with
From this reading ‘They hissed Delacroix,’ broke in Sandoz, white with rage, and clenching his fists.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading ‘What would you have?
an affirmative
From this reading It’s improper; yes, you may say what you like, it’s improper.’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘What would you have?
Chapter 7 of His Masterpiece by Émile Zola holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 7 holds 417 sentences of His Masterpiece, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of His Masterpiece by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 7 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading His Masterpiece by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7129 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15900 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15900, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 594 minutes of reading across 1426 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through His Masterpiece section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of His Masterpiece to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in His Masterpiece, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
